How to Build a Community on Twitch?

Twitch is the 2nd most popular website for watching and streaming video games, behind YouTube. Content creators are able to build an audience for their content and earn money from a robust subscriber system.

Building a community on Twitch streams starts with you and your personality.

A community or Twitch “fan base” can be built through the actions of streamers, who can gain popularity by attracting viewers, particularly from outside the traditional gaming community.

A streamer’s popularity can also lead to sponsorship deals from hardware manufacturers, software developers, and apparel companies

Twitch is a worldwide video game streaming platform and community site where people gather to watch and chat about video games.

The ability to build and grow a community can be the key to success on the platform. So how to build a community on Twitch? Here are some tips to grow an amazing community :

1. Make a style guide for your channel

Creating a style guide is one of the best ways to ensure your channel has a consistent look and feel. You can add this to your Twitch channel’s info page so that viewers have access to it whenever they need it.

While you don’t have to get too in-depth, it helps everyone involved with creating content for your channel to know what your brand’s goals, values, and personality are.

2. Create a regular schedule for your streams

How often should you stream? Every person who is interested in streaming should begin with a weekly schedule. The truth of the matter is that it really depends on you and your Twitch channel.

The best way to determine the right length for your weekly schedule is to start small and work your way up from there.

Start by setting milestones—for example, the number of viewers in one day or week—and then adjust from there as needed.

3. Interact with your viewers and be yourself

Interact with your viewers as much as possible! Your viewers are the most important people you can interact with because they keep you on air.
Be yourself! You may have heard this tip before, but it’s probably the most important one when it comes to building a community in any situation. If you’re not being yourself, people will notice and be more likely to drop from your stream because they can tell that you’re faking it.
Be interesting! People tune in to watch entertaining content and if they’re not finding what they want right away or don’t feel like sticking around, they won’t hesitate to move on to another streamer who is being more interesting at that time.
Be welcoming! No one likes a mean streamer so make sure that you are greeting new viewers and thanking them for taking the time out of their day to check out your channel.

4. Post consistently

Don’t ignore your viewers. If you’re lucky, you’ll have some people who will watch you for a long time and build a sense of loyalty to you.

You can’t build that without knowing who your viewers are. They want to be acknowledged! So say hi to them, and pick up on their comments so they feel valued by you!

5. Set up a Discord server for your channel

Create a space that people can easily talk in.

Discord is a free chat app that lets you create your own servers or groups. They are very easy to set up and can be used for a ton of different things.

Depending on how you want to use it, you can turn Discord into the ultimate channel moderation tool by setting up user-specific permissions.

You as the streamer will get access to information about your viewers: what games they like to play if they’re a subscriber or followers of yours on Twitch and YouTube etc.
Viewers will enjoy the ability to create their own private channels and set up group chats with other members of your community.
You can use bots to run contests in your discord server, such as giveaways for bits (Twitch currency), special game codes, and so on.

6. Create challenges for your viewers

Create challenges

This is a really great way to get the chat involved. Challenges can be based on skill, strategy or just something fun. Viewers can compete to see who can do the best or get the highest score. You can even set up a prize for the winner of your challenge. Here are some examples:

Most headshots in an hour
Highest score playing Tetris after watching one of your streams
Best cosplay picture from one of your viewers

7. Create memorable moments on your channel, especially when you get new subscribers.

Every time a viewer subscribes to your channel, celebrate!

It’s a great way to show how much you value the loyalty of your community. When you jump for joy because someone subscribed, you’ll give the rest of your chat something to talk about and make them feel like they’re a part of something special.

Consider creating an event around major subscriber milestones—for example, plan to celebrate every 10th subscriber. You might also consider announcing each new sub over text-to-speech with a dedicated donation sound effect or a giveaway in order to really hype up the celebration.

It’s important to create community events that are unique and exclusive to your channel. When viewers see that they can only participate in certain experiences by using their subscription, they’ll be more likely to subscribe themselves in order to be part of the fun!

You can also use the loyalty points system we mentioned earlier as an incentive for people who subscribe early or continuously month after month.

8. Announce upcoming streams on social media so people can plan to attend and become regulars

When you’re trying to build an audience, it helps to let your viewers know when they can join you. Yes, this is a long-term strategy to get more viewers on the regular, but it’s also a way to turn your viewers into fans.

To craft a community, there has to be some sense of continuity. If a viewer knows that he or she can expect you at the same time every day or every week, then there’s always something for them!

They’ll be able to plan their days around your stream and will be much more likely to become regulars.

A good way of doing this is by posting your stream schedule on social media along with links to where they can find you and watch.

This not only lets them know when they can count on seeing you; it also gives them an opportunity to become part of something special.

9. Ask questions at the beginning of your stream and encourage people to answer in chat

Some of the most popular streamers on Twitch have communities of hundreds or thousands of viewers. How do they do it?

Building a community takes time, but you can start by getting your audience engaged at the beginning of your stream and asking them to share their own experiences in chat.

If you ask questions like, “What’s the craziest thing that ever happened to you while gaming?” or “How are you feeling today?” then it will encourage people to share their stories with each other in chat and feel more connected as a result.

A good rule of thumb is not to spend longer than 5-10 minutes engaging with your audience upfront — but keep this activity short and sweet so that new viewers don’t get bored waiting for gameplay to begin.

10. Interact with other players outside of your stream

You can also interact with other players outside of your stream. These interactions will help you grow your community and learn from others who are doing the same thing you’re doing.

You want to be active on social media, interacting with the people who are watching you play. You can also do this by joining other channels to hang out with their viewers and show love for fellow streamers.

Be sociable! Join communities of streamers online to chat, share ideas and collaborate on projects like sponsored events or live shows together.

This way fans will already be familiar with your face when they stumble across your channel for a second time.

Building a community on Twitch is hard work but it’s rewarding if you enjoy it too. The key of success is to just start 🚀